How Close Are The Famicom Zelda Translations?

Started by okame, March 22, 2013, 04:14:40 pm

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okame

How close are the NES Legend Of Zelda translations to the Famicom/FDS game's original text? I just got a Famicom Zelda cart, and while walkthroughs are helpful, I'd like to know if it would be worth it buy another copy of the Famicom Zelda CIB, put the loose cart I've got in it, and get someone to put a translated version of the Famicom ROM (if they exist) onto the Famicom cart, or if the NES 'old man/lady' parts of the game are close enough to the Japanese text that my NES Legend Of Zelda cart is good enough. I know the language is probably Americanized for a worldwide audience, but how faithful is the translation?

L___E___T

Not as faithful as it could have been, due to various things being lost in translation.  There's a more faithful re-localisation somewhere.

HERE:
http://www.glitterberri.com/the-legend-of-zelda/retranslation-redux/

My for Sale / Trade thread
http://www.famicomworld.com/forum/index.php?topic=9423.msg133828#msg133828
大事なのは、オチに至るまでの積み重ねなのです。

okame

Okay, so that's one question answered. Second question: is there a FAITHFUL translated ROM of the Famicom version? If so, links to the site, please! Google keeps giving me Link and the NES version. I already have an NES Zelda cart. As for Link, I don't want it yet. I hate the game, and there are too many versions of the ORIGINAL Legend of Zelda game to find. Next up, the original Japanese FDS and English PAL versions!

homogenized

You might want to check this site out too, it's even more detailed and has info about the manual and other things.
http://legendsoflocalization.com/the-legend-of-zelda/

P

Quote from: okame on March 22, 2013, 05:58:20 pm
Okay, so that's one question answered. Second question: is there a FAITHFUL translated ROM of the Famicom version? If so, links to the site, please! Google keeps giving me Link and the NES version. I already have an NES Zelda cart. As for Link, I don't want it yet. I hate the game, and there are too many versions of the ORIGINAL Legend of Zelda game to find. Next up, the original Japanese FDS and English PAL versions!

I don't think there is one. But the script is translated faithfully on those sites linked, so it just needs someone to hack and insert it into the game.

okame

Are there any game hackers out there willing to MAKE a translation patch and add it to a Japanese Famicom .nes ROM, so that I can play it on Nestopia, then get someone else to put it on a loose Famicom cart? I can't get Nestopia to accept my FDS BIOS, no matter how much I try. I tried for over an HOUR, and all I got was the FDS title screen! I got that on my Twin Famicom's broken FDS drive, even BEFORE I swapped the drive for one that works!

P

Your best bet would be to ask in a place like http://www.romhacking.net/ or better, read up on the documents on that site and learn to do it yourself. I imagine that Zelda 1 would be a good beginner project.

okame

80's Freak, if I DID make or get someone else to make a better translated version of the FDS and the Famicom cart Legend of Zelda game (one of each), do you have the equipment to make a translated English FDS version that would work on my Twin Famicom, as well as an NES reproduction cart, preferably a hack with the better, funkier FDS sounds? I have the FDS Excite Baseball disk & Mahjong cart that I got when I bought my Twin Famicom for the FDS and Famicom options ON that Twin Famicom, as well a broken down NES Super Mario Bros. 3 cart to donate for the NES repro cart hack with the FDS sounds. I figure if I sent you some sticker sheets for the custom Famicom/NES/FDS labels I'm gonna make on Photoshop when I take the time, you could probably put ALL THREE labels on one sheet! I'm making custom game case inserts, so you don't have to worry about that. So, will you do it? Heck, you can even keep the Mahjong cart circuit board, if you want to! I HATE that game! Even if I knew how to play, I still wouldn't touch it! More importantly, how much? By the way, I don't pay cash, but the PayPal account from my bank would pay you in US funds!

80sFREAK

okame, you have only two kidney and you can keep your paypal. I take cash only  8)
I don't buy, sell or trade at moment.
But my question is how hackers at that time were able to hack those games?(c)krzy

okame

Could I send an international Money Order? Sending cash in the mail always makes me nervous. Before I got my PayPal account, it was the only way I'd buy things on eBay. Canadian Money Orders are always international by default, so at lest then, you'd be able to get the money SOMEHOW!

L___E___T

March 24, 2013, 09:05:00 am #10 Last Edit: March 24, 2013, 09:49:29 am by L___E___T
Before anyone sends anything, OKAME you should've read those links.  The reasons the translations aren't faithfull is because of character count limits - the fan translator's nemesis.  

In short, you won't fit a faithful translation on, but you could fix some of the mistranslations.  

You could've saved yourself effort by reading the first paragraph of any of those stories.  It's frustrating to go and dig out those stories via google wondering if you could've done it, but then feeling like you didn't read what you asked for.  There isn't a translation because the translation won't fit.

To pay someone to edit the ROM and burn it on a pricey Zelda cart will cost you 100+ bucks.  You could buy an Everdrive for that and run the FDS version fine.  Or, just get the cheapest version you can find and play through with the pen and paper translation.  It'll be like a tabletop RPG! :)
My for Sale / Trade thread
http://www.famicomworld.com/forum/index.php?topic=9423.msg133828#msg133828
大事なのは、オチに至るまでの積み重ねなのです。

okame

L_E_T, I don't want a 'pricey Zelda cart'. I've got a Super Mario 3 cart that isn't working, and I'm working on the logistics on a custom label. I wanted to use a grey cart, because I wanted something I could put beside the gold U.S. one I've got, just so I know where it is! If I make it from a gold cart, I might not be able to tell the difference! I'm making custom EVERYTHING, actually! I'm working on a few mockup title screens based upon my repro name, 'Legend Of Zelda: Hyrule Fantasy', since that's pretty much what the original Japanese version's name is. For the translated Famicom version, I'm turning the Triforce and Zelda logos red to match the big red 1 on the Famicom label and title screen.

As for the internals, I'll use anything's that's cheaper than a Zelda cart, but compatible enough chip wise to work as a suitable substitute! I'm not trying to copy the U.S. version, but make an entirely NEW version of the game, with a better translation, and if I can get or figure out how to do an audio hack, the original FDS Zelda music and sound effects. I'm making it a fan translated 'upgrade' of what could have been a pretty good game, if Nintendo Of America wouldn't have made so many changes to the original Japanese version! That, and I want to see if I can get someone to mod a Famicom player 2 mic type controller to work on an NES, because if I'm using the Japanese version as a base, I can pull off the Vols trick. I know the wiring's different on a regular NES controller, but maybe a turbo controller might have the extra connection wire that I'm looking for!


L___E___T

March 27, 2013, 11:33:05 am #13 Last Edit: March 27, 2013, 01:23:29 pm by L___E___T
I have to admit this all sounds very ambitious unless you have a good amount of hacking experience.  Even then you'll face the same difficulties NOA did with space, which is a real bane and not to taken lightly, but good luck in your quest.

If it was me, I'd start by going through the translations and seeing where I could make improvements within the same character limit.  This wouldn't be issue with the manual if that's also on the agenda, but it's a massive issue in the game.  
I know you have a good amount of free time to utilise but you don't want to get half way through and find out it basically can't be done, right?  
As a general rule, with popular games like this if it's not already done there's usually a good reason - especially when you look at the work people have put into translating the manual and other components, outside of a directly translated ROM.

Don't get me wrong I think it's admirable what you're pushing for, I just don't want to see waste the time you have if it means quitting halfway through when you encounter a tall hurdle.
My for Sale / Trade thread
http://www.famicomworld.com/forum/index.php?topic=9423.msg133828#msg133828
大事なのは、オチに至るまでの積み重ねなのです。

UglyJoe

Failed rom-hacking attempts are usually good learning exercises, so I'd say go for it ;D